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Family: Gibson addicted in years before murders

Grace Schneider, The Courier-Journal
6:05 a.m. EDT July 30, 2014

Convicted murderer William Clyde Gibson heads to court Tuesday morning for formal sentencing after being convicted in October of murdering Christine Whitis in 2012. The jury recommended the death penalty for Gibson. Gibson faces two more murder trials.(Photo: By Matt Stone/The Courier-Journal)

Witnesses in William Clyde Gibson's latest capital murder case testified on Tuesday that he battled mental illness and chemical addiction before murdering Stephanie Kirk and two other women.

But Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson said that Gibson's drug and alcohol abuse and his "so-called troubled childhood" shouldn't be excuses for the crime he committed.

Gibson, 56, was headed to trial in Kirk's murder, but halted jury selection in early June and pleaded guilty to the brutal 2012 slaying. That's led to the penalty phase proceedings this week where Judge Susan Orth is hearing evidence before deciding whether to sentence him to death.

Gibson already has pleaded guilty to killing Florida beautician Karen Hodella in 2002 and was sentenced to 65 years. He was convicted and sentenced to death last fall for the murder of Clarksville resident Christine Whitis, 75, a family friend.

Gibson admitted to police that he strangled Kirk after an argument erupted between the two at his New Albany home during a night of drinking, smoking pot and taking pills. He told investigators he sexually abused the her lifeless body on the living room floor before leaving it in his garage two days.

He later buried it in his backyard, New Albany police Sgt. Steve Bush testified on Monday.

An autopsy showed that her lower spine had been broken.

In a written statement for police, Gibson said that "I did choke her to death ... then I panicked and started drinking more whiskey. ... I believe I passed out for awhile ... with her dead on the living room floor."

Gibson's defense lawyers, Floyd's chief public defender Patrick Biggs and Andrew Adams, of Jeffersonville, have not commented on any of the proceedings.

Orth is expected to hear arguments and final statements through Thursday, after which the parties will submit briefs. She is to announce Gibson's sentence sometime in August.

Witnesses Tuesday recounted Gibson's upbringing in a modest home with two sisters, a brother and a father who worked as a tree trimmer. Bill Gibson drank heavily on weekends and the children knew to steer clear, saiid Brenda Ray, Gibson's sister.

She said that like "Clyde," his older half brother Mitchell "Mickey" Steen was an alcoholic who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

He committed suicide 15 years ago, while Clyde's trouble with alcohol and petty crime grew as he advanced to adulthood, she said, noting that "it seemed like he was always in jail."

Gibson's ex-wife, Kelly Fey, said their decade-long marriage broke up as he became more out of control and less reliable.

He'd had several DUI arrests before the two divorced around 1991, Fey testified, but she recalled only one incident when he became violent, ripping the phone off the wall while she tried to make a call after they'd separated.

Ray, Fey and two men who knew Gibson from church and his neighborhood said Gibson was deeply pained by the death of his mother, Jeraline Gibson, in January 2012.

Fey said that when he called to tell her of her death, Gibson sounded tearful and said his life was a mess.

Barry Hargan, a Milwaukee-based expert on substance abuse, testified that his evaluation of Gibson in May and a review of medical records showed he's a chronic alcoholic who also is dependent on sedatives like Valium and Xanax.

"Does the fact that he drinks lead to that?" Owen asked, showing Hargan a photo of Whitis' dead body. Hargan stressed that the focus of his evaluation was Gibson's drug and alcohol abuse, not his mental disorders.

Reporter Grace Schneider can be reached at 812-949-4040. Follow her on Twitter @gesinfk.